Email to Cat      

Eggs - Every Which Way *

Source of Recipe

From "James Beard's American Cookery"
* * *

• FRIED EGGS

Probably the most common of all ways to serve eggs is not really fried, but panned. They are served with the yolks brilliantly glazed, known as "sunny side up," or turned briefly, known as "over easy."

The best way to fry eggs, I find, is in Teflon, using a minimum of butter. Drop the eggs into the pan when it is well heated and the butter is warm. Let the whites solidify, and if you want your eggs over easy, turn them with the aid of a spatula. If you want them sunny side up, add a few drops of hot water to the pan and cover for a minute or two with the heat off. A delicate film of cooked egg white will form on the yolks. Shake the pan gently before removing the eggs.

In diners and small restaurants, fried eggs are typically prepared in a small 6- or 7-inch pan that will just hold two eggs easily. The butter is ample -- at least a good tablespoon for each pan of eggs -- and when it foams, the eggs are dropped in and cooked to the required state. Eggs prepared in this manner will slide from the pan with the greatest of ease. One can keep one or more such pans ready for fried eggs, using them exclusively for that purpose.


• POACHED EGGS

Poaching is extremely easy, and is even easier if you take a few steps not generally mentioned in the rules. But first, we'll begin with the most generally recommended method:

Pour enough water into a small, shallow pan to cover the eggs. Bring to a gentle boil, not a rolling boil. Add a little vinegar, and start swirling the water to create a miniature whirlpool. Break the eggs into the center of this, and then gather the white together with a spoon or other tool. If you are deft, this produces a beautiful rounded egg. Cook it -- do not boil it -- until the white is firm. Remove it from the water with a slotted spoon or slotted lifter. Dry on paper towels or a dish towel. If you are going to use the eggs later, either cold or reheated, for a dish, store in a bowl of cold water. When ready to use, remove carefully and dry on a towel.

It is probably much easier for most people to follow one of these two methods of poaching eggs:

1) Prepare water for poaching and let it heat to the feeble ebullition stage (180° to 190° F). Gently break each egg to be poached into a small cup -- measuring cups with handles are ideal for this purpose. Carefully turn the cup over into the water, holding the cup inverted over the egg for a few seconds. This holds the white intact until it sets. Continue poaching as above, basting the eggs with a little hot water, if you like. Transfer them carefully to a paper towel or dish towel.

2) There are rings equipped with folding handles available on the market for frying eggs in perfect circles. If you place these in a pan of water and invert the eggs (in cups) into the rings, they will poach perfectly.


• BOILED EGGS:

1) Place the eggs in cold water, and let them come to a boil. Remove them from heat, and allow to stand for 30 seconds for very soft eggs and 1 minute for firmer eggs.
For hard-boiled eggs, let them boil for 3 minutes; remove from heat and allow to stand for 20 minutes. Plunge into cold water at once.

2) Put the eggs in cold water and bring to a real rolling boil. Reduce to a simmer and let them cook 3 minutes for very soft eggs and 4 for a firmer egg.
For hard-boiled eggs, let them cook for 10 to 12 minutes. Plunge into cold water at once.


• CODDLED EGGS

Lower the eggs gently into boiling water and immediately remove the pan from the heat. Cover, and let stand for 4 minutes for very soft eggs; 6 minutes for firmer.


• SCRAMBLED EGGS

For years, the best restaurant-scrambled eggs were to be found found in diners and at small counters, where short-order cooks had the knack of making creamy, large-curd scrambled eggs that were soft and flavorful. It is now a lost art in restaurants, but one can do it at home with ease.

Estimate 2 eggs per person. To 4 eggs, add 1½ tablespoons water, ½ teaspoon salt, and a dash of Tabasco. Beat lightly with a fork. Melt 1 to 2 tablespoons butter in the pan you will use.

1) Use a 10-inch skillet (preferably Teflon-lined). Place the pan over low heat, and when the butter is just melted, add the eggs. Let them heat through, and as they do, increase the heat slightly. Using a wooden spatula or spoon, push the eggs from the bottom of the pan in long strokes to form rather long curds. Continue this with increasing speed as the pan grows hotter. Remove from heat if it grows too hot. The eggs should be loose, creamy, and not the least bit overcooked. Scrape them onto warm plates and serve at once.

2) Do not use a Teflon pan for this method. Simply heat the butter in the skillet, add the eggs, and mix with a fork as the eggs form a solid mass at the bottom of the pan. Gauge the size of the curds you want as you manipulate the fork.

3) Heat the eggs in melted butter in the top of a double boiler over boiling water. Stir with a wooden spoon or spatula until the eggs are creamy and curded.